remote turnout problems

[Bucksco]

Bachmann has sold literally hundreds of thousands of these turnouts with very few complaints about the functionality of the product. It could be possible that you have a defective one in which case Bachmann would be glad to provide a replacement. All Bachmann products are covered by our limited lifetime warranty. Before going through all the modifications to the switch mechanism you might have considered returning the switch for a replacement to see if the one in question was defective. Either way there is no need for insults or threats.
In a previous post Bachmann was taken to task for not labeling standard turnouts as "Non-DCC compatible". In model railroading all track products are considered Analog operation unless labeled as a "DCC product". All of Bachmann's DCC turnouts and other DCC products are labeled as such.
Please feel free to call the Bachmann Service department during our normal hours of operation and our staff of service techs will be more than happy to assist you. We're sorry if you are not happy with our products and completely understand if you decide to try another manufacturer's product.

[Doneldon]

Yardmaster-

Thank you for the measured response to the bellicose griper who doesn't know as much as he thinks he does.

                                                                                                                                        -- D

[ekuryluk]

Firstly, I would like to give kudos to Bachmann and the other manufacturers that have modified the design of HO track to make it simpler to set-up and operate. But the points the OP bring up are still valid, and shouldn't be lost in his frustration. I too am frustrated with similar issues.

Derailment at the Turnouts:

It could be possible that you have a defective one in which case Bachmann would be glad to provide a replacement. All Bachmann products are covered by our limited lifetime warranty.

True, and I'll be visiting my local hobby shop. Whether this is defective or not, I won't know until I go back to the hobby shop. It's just that I have three brand new turnouts (1 manual, 2 remote) each of which experiences the same type of derailment. All defective?

The second challenge with all 3 of the turnouts is the "Y" area leading to the two inner rails. The gap is either too long, or the depth too deep. Manually sighting a wheel in this section clearly shows the wheel lowering into the space. If a locomotive runs through at anything less than half speed it will derail. Hopefully the three pictures in this post illustrate what I describe.

This situation does not occur with rolling stock, likely the lower weight is keeping the wheels from dropping into the gap.

In a previous post Bachmann was taken to task for not labeling standard turnouts as "Non-DCC compatible". In model railroading all track products are considered Analog operation unless labeled as a "DCC product". All of Bachmann's DCC turnouts and other DCC products are labeled as such.

I too bought the expansion pack to allow for more layout options beyond the standard set. That tiny oval is confining to two locomotives and the bundled price of the expansion pack is very attractive. But the lack of labeling this pack being DC only is problematic. It's too bad that Bachmann is content to just comply with industry practice, as opposed to leading the industry and clearly labeling the products DCC compliant or not. In your own words you have heard this message from customers in the past. I can only speculate, but wouldn't future growth of Bachmann depend on creating  new model train enthusiasts? Not everyone is savvy to the ins and outs of the hobby.

Product improvement idea #1: Use different types of connectors for different voltage needs. The power track/rerailer connector is the same as the turnout remote connector. Yes, there are three wires versus two, and the colors are different, but avg Joe's need something a little more obvious (i.e. SD memory cards can only be inserted one way)

Product improvement idea #2: A proper voltage output to run the remotes from the controller. It may add to the cost of the product, but what at what price to customer frustration?

Thanks.

[Joe323]

Regarding the remote turnouts.  I found that either buying or building a capacitive discharge unit solved the weak solenoid problem.

I have an extra turnout that I intend to use for experimenting with stiffening the wire.